Pakistan passport dropped to 103d place globally after a further decline in its ranking, the latest report by the global passport-ranking organization Henley & Partners revealed on Wednesday.
The report unveiled that the passports from countries such as Somalia, Yemen, Bangladesh, the Palestinian Authority, Ethiopia and Libya have been ranked higher than Pakistan, occupying 101st position.
The citizens of these countries can travel to 38 countries without a visa while Pakistani passport holders have visa-free access to 33 countries.
The report also highlights that Singapore holds the world’s most powerful passport, with its citizens able to travel to 195 countries without a visa.
New Passport Fees Announced
The federal government has introduced updated fees for issuing e-passports, machine-readable passports (MRP), and lost passports.
For e-passports with 36 pages valid for 5 years, the standard fee is set at PKR 3,000, and an urgent processing fee is PKR 15,000. The fee for a standard 75-page passport is PKR 15,500, while the urgent 10-year option costs PKR 27,000. Additionally, a 36-page e-passport with a 10-year validity will cost PKR 13,500 standard and PKR 24,750 urgent.
For machine-readable passports (MRP), a 36-page passport with 5-year validity has a standard fee of PKR 4,500, urgent PKR 7,500, and a fast-track option priced at PKR 13,500. A 72-page passport with a 10-year validity costs PKR 6,700 standard, PKR 11,200 urgent, and PKR 16,200 fast-track. A 5-year, 72-page passport has a standard fee of PKR 8,200, urgent PKR 13,500, and fast-track PKR 19,500.
For lost passports, fees vary based on the number of incidents: the first loss incurs a fee of PKR 54,000, and the third incident carries a hefty charge of PKR 356,000.
These updates aim to streamline passport processing options while addressing varied needs and urgency levels for applicants.
Unprecedented demand for travel documents and technical glitches in printing have resulted in extended waiting periods for passport applicants in Pakistan, a country of more than 242 million people. The issuance has been delayed for several months at present, frustrating thousands of citizens who desperately need travel documents. This has further aggravated the record influx of passport applications—both new and renewed documents—that highlighted deficiencies in the existing infrastructure and technology.
Presently, approximately 22,000 passports are printed daily, which is not sufficient to accommodate a demand surged into about 50,000 applications daily. As current production matched only half of the volume required, the backlog became an issue. The shortage in passport supply has already elicited considerable public attention and frustration; it even raised questions within Pakistan’s National Assembly for government officials to expedite solutions that address the extended wait times.
In response, the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has been investing in the latest printing technology with the view to increasing production to decongest the current backlog. It is reported that 10 advanced, high-class desktop printing machines have been imported and are expected to become operational within one week.
These will double the printing capacity, thereby providing some much-needed relief from the pressure. According to security authorities, once the aforementioned machines get into operation, the average daily production will rise and yield close to the meeting of demands.